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Time Period for Smart Sync

Hi,

Is there a way to adjust the time period for smart sync to 'unload' files back to online only?

we have some large projects and files that may not be touched for a few months and we keep having to download them again. As we work out on remote sites using mobile data, this can chew up our data limit quickly.

It would be good as an admin to be able to set some Team folders or sub folders as 1 week while other are set to something like 6 months.

Thanks

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DV87

there’s not a specific period of time over which the Dropbox app converts your files automatically to online-only.

Thanks @Nancy ... I'm honestly just not sure I believe this. The Dropbox app must have some method to determine that downloaded files and/or folders haven't been accessed for while... Maybe it's not a super-specific interval or "countdown" timer, but I was just hoping for a bit more detail on how this feature works. Thanks anyway!

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Lusil

Hey @Benjo1216, thanks for dropping by!

Although there isn't currently an option to set when a file or folder becomes local again, you can suggest it, here.

There, like-minded users can comment and upvote your idea.

I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any other questions in the meantime.

DV87

Out of curiosity, how long is the default time period before Dropbox makes inactive files / folders online-only again?

Personally, I'd prefer if my Dropbox would never automatically offload files that I've specifically chosen to download. If I want to offload files / folders later, I'm more than happy to do it manually. Actually... Based on my Smart Sync preferences (screenshot below), it seems like files I've downloaded shouldn't be getting automatically offloaded... But they are. Can you shed any light on why this might be?

Rich

@DV87 wrote:
Personally, I'd prefer if my Dropbox would never automatically offload files that I've specifically chosen to download.

Mark them as Available Offline and they'll never switch back to Online-only.

Based on my Smart Sync preferences (screenshot below), it seems like files I've downloaded shouldn't be getting automatically offloaded... But they are. Can you shed any light on why this might be?

Make sure you've marked those files at Available Offline. If they started out as Online-only files, then they'll remain as such (or in the temporary state if you open them) until you mark them as Available Offline.

DV87

Thanks so much for the reply! Can you be more specific about the procedure I should use to "mark" files as "Available Offline?" I always thought that's what I was doing by right-clicking my files in Finder and choosing "Make available offline" (see screenshot below) — but I noticed one folder in particular that got offloaded at some point within the last 3 weeks or so. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong? 🙂

Thanks again!

Hannah

Hey @DV87!

The process you're following is indeed correct.

Have you tried to quit the Dropbox app and then relaunch it, to see if that changes the behavior you're seeing?

DV87

Thanks. It's not a huge issue for me, but I'll give that a try.

Out of curiosity: If I were to turn on "Save hard drive space automatically" and mark a folder to be "available offline," exactly how long would that folder need to be inactive before Dropbox would automatically offload it, making it "online only" again? I assume there's some sort of countdown timer that resets every time a file inside such a folder is accessed locally... Since that duration can't currently be customized, I'm just wondering how long it is.

Thanks again for your insight!

Nancy

Hi @DV87, I hope you don’t mind me jumping in, as well.

From what I know, there’s not a specific period of time over which the Dropbox app converts your files automatically to online-only. In general, this can happen after a few months of inactivity (if you don’t access a specific file, for example).

DV87

there’s not a specific period of time over which the Dropbox app converts your files automatically to online-only.

Pookeyblow

Where do I find the "save hard drive space automatically" option? I've looked everywhere and I can't find it. I'm on a M1 Mac (macOS Monterey 12.1).

DV87

@Pookeyblow, it may depend on your account type, but mine is found on the Sync tab within Dropbox Preferences.

Pookeyblow

What?? Support just told me the option was removed some time ago!

Pookeyblow

Just spoke to support and they said the option is removed, but it's always on. You can't turn it off. Maybe you haven't updated you app or something.

Rich

@Pookeyblow wrote:
Just spoke to support and they said the option is removed, but it's always on. You can't turn it off. Maybe you haven't updated you app or something.

The Dropbox for macOS update hasn't rolled out to everyone yet. It's being gradually rolled out through May 2023. Accounts that haven't been updated yet likely still have the feature available to them. Yours has apparently been updated already.

DV87

While it may not be a huge inconvenience, I don’t love this news… So, rather than allowing users the option to keep downloaded files indefinitely, it sounds like Dropbox will just take the liberty to remove them from our local hard drives at some unspecified interval. Can’t wait to see what other exciting changes are in store.

Pookeyblow

Even though I like having most of my files online, that's actually a really dumb decision. Why can't users just decide of themselves? What happens when you try yo backup your Mac with Time Machine? What happens when you use files in a third party app?

yoyoyoyoyo27

awful, the end of dropbox

yoyoyoyoyo27

it's so bad

yoyoyoyoyo27

it's really an awful decision that fundamentally changes the way dropbox works and makes it dramtically less useful now. anyone know of alternatives that behave like Dropbox used to?